146 MANUSCRIPT MATERIALS FOR CORNISH HISTORY. 



reason to think that in some instances the clue exists, but I do 

 not wish to carry this paper beyond suggestion. 



"We have now, however, arrived at a period when it is 

 certain that some of those unref ormed corporations of the county 

 which have maintained their existence until the present day, 

 will disappear, while those which are left must pass under the 

 ordinary municipal scheme. "What is to become of the muni- 

 ments of the corporations doomed by Sir Charles Dilke's bill ? 

 They would be x^ractically valueless in private hands, and would 

 soon be lost sight of in any case. Moreover, with regard to the 

 reformed corporations, will not their position with regard to the 

 historical student be very different to that of the old close bodies 

 which they will replace, and their records be more readily 

 accessible ? 



My idea, therefore, is this, that an effort should be made to 

 secure for the purpose of historical research such local records 

 as are in danger of disappearance, and I would combine with 

 this an attempt to ascertain, with some approach to precision, 

 what the full manuscript materials for Cornish history may be. 



The task is by no means a light one. It is far too great for 

 any one individual, but I venture to think it is neither beyond 

 the province nor the powers of the Eoyal Institution. Here, 

 with greater accessibility than elsewhere, might be deposited 

 the muniments, properly arranged and indexed, of the corpora- 

 tions that have ceased to be (should any be recoverable), and of 

 those that are doomed to extinction. And this would be a good 

 work, even if it went no further. 



But we may go much further. "Would it not be possible, 

 with the consent of the various corporations throughout the 

 county, to do on a small scale, but with special regard to local 

 interests, what the Historical Manuscripts' Commission is doing 

 on a large — to examine the various collections of records in the 

 county, and to calendar their chief contents ? 



I have reason to believe that some of the corporations at 

 any rate would be glad to have their collections examined, and 

 so far reported on and arranged by competent authority. With 

 the volunteer aid that no doubt would be available the cost 

 need not be heavy, and a very few years would put us in 

 possession of a body of original historical material of the highest 

 value. "We should do, in fact, for the local manuscripts of the 



